Download 1 The Americans (Reconstruction to the 21st Century) Chapter 3

The Americans (Reconstruction to the 21st Century)
Chapter 3:
TELESCOPING THE TIMES The Growth of a Young Nation
CHAPTER OVERVIEW In the first half of the 1800s, the United States grows—adding
land and people. The economy grows throughout the nation, but the different regions
develop varied ways of life and attitudes.
Section 1 : The Jeffersonian Era
MAIN IDEA During the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James
Monroe, the country grew in both size and prestige.
Thomas Jefferson won a close and bitter election in 1800 to become president. Jefferson
wanted to make the federal government smaller. At the same time, the Supreme Court
acted to increase its power. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote the opinion in a critical
decision, Marbury v. Madison. This established the principle of judicial review, which
granted the Supreme Court authority to decide whether a law was allowed by the
Constitution.
Jefferson expanded American territory. He bought the vast Louisiana Territory from
France. The land stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. The
purchase doubled the size of the United States. Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark to explore this territory.
During Jefferson’s two terms as president, Britain and France fought a war. Both sides
threatened American merchant ships. The British also seized sailors from American ships
and forced them to join the British navy. In addition, the British helped Native Americans
who fought settlers in the West. Anger against Britain rose. Finally, in 1812, Congress
declared war on Great Britain.
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In 1814, the Treaty of Ghent ended the war but created no clear winner. The war had
important results, though. The Federalist party died out. The war also led Americans to
develop their own industries. Finally, it showed that the United States was truly
independent of Britain.
Americans felt strong national pride in the years after the War of 1812. The nation
obtained Florida from Spain. In 1823, President James Monroe warned European nations
not to interfere with any nation in the Americas. This foreign policy statement became
known as the Monroe Doctrine.
Section 2 : The Age of Jackson
MAIN IDEA During a time of growing sectionalism, Andrew Jackson's election in 1828
ushered in a new era of popular democracy.
The New England and Middle Atlantic states began to develop new industries. In the
Northwest Territory, farmers thrived. In the South, farmers raised cotton. As the demand
for cotton grew, slavery spread in the South. Meanwhile, Northern states gradually
abolished slavery.
Henry Clay tried to unite the sections with a plan for economic development called the
American System. A tariff on imported goods helped American industries grow. The
creation of a national bank made a national currency available. The nation built new
canals and roads making it easier to move people and goods across the country.
Leaders debated whether new states should allow slavery or not. The Missouri
Compromise of 1820 seemed to settle the issue by allowing slavery in the Louisiana
Territory south of the 36º 30’ north latitude line.
In 1828, Andrew Jackson became president. His presidential style made him very popular
with common people. This popularity became important as the right to vote was
expanded to include more people.
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In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which forced Native Americans out of
the Southeast. The Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional. Jackson defied the Court,
which could not enforce its ruling. The Cherokees were the last to move west.
Southern leaders opposed tariffs (taxes on imported goods passed by Congress in 1832).
South Carolina passed a law declaring the tariff null and void in that state. Jackson
threatened to send the army to enforce federal law. A compromise prevented violence,
but tensions remained. Another conflict emerged over the national bank. Jackson won,
and the bank went out of existence. This contributed to an economic collapse that hit the
nation in 1837.
Section 3: Manifest Destiny
MAIN IDEA Through settlement and war, the United States greatly expanded its
boundaries during the mid-1800s.
Americans began to speak of manifest destiny—the belief that the United States was
meant to expand from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. People moved west in
search of economic opportunity. Meanwhile the U.S. government made treaties with
Native Americans that it did not honor.
Trails brought traders to New Mexico and settlers to Oregon. Thousands of Mormons
moved to Utah. In 1846, Britain agreed to give its share of the Oregon country to the
United States.
The Mexican government invited Americans to settle in Texas, which was then a part of
Mexico. Tension grew between the settlers and the Mexican government. In 1836, Texas
won its independence. After nine years as an independent republic, Texas entered the
Union in 1845.
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Some Americans wanted to annex Mexico’s northern regions. But Mexico refused to sell
the land. Finally, President James K. Polk persuaded Congress to declare war on Mexico,
starting the Mexican-American War. The United States won the war, and through the
peace treaty the United States gained all of present-day California, Nevada, New Mexico,
Utah, and parts of three other states.
Soon after the war ended, gold was discovered in California. Thousands of people
streamed west in the gold rush, hoping to make their fortune.
Section 4: The Market Revolution
MAIN IDEA Inventions and economic developments in the early 19th century helped
transform American society.
In the first half of the 1800s, people increasingly bought goods rather than made what
they needed. This was known as the market revolution. New inventions helped fuel
economic growth. The telegraph allowed quick communication over long distances.
Steam-powered ships and railroads helped move people and goods farther and faster.
New inventions helped the farmers of the Midwest, too. The steel plow helped them
prepare the soil for seeds. The reaper helped them harvest grain. Southerners continued to
rely on slave labor to grow cotton, rice, and tobacco.
The rise of factories changed the nature of work. Early textile mills hired young women
to work. They worked long hours in hot, noisy buildings. Sometimes workers organized
to fight for better working conditions.
Immigrants continued to come to the United States in search of opportunity. About 1.3
million people came from Ireland between 1845 and 1854. Most settled in eastern cities
despite the prejudice they faced. Many of the immigrant workers contributed to the
growth of trade unions. The court case Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842) protected the
workers’ right to strike.
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Section 5: Reforming American Society
MAIN IDEA Throughout the mid-19th century, men and women who saw problems with
American society embarked on a widespread effort to solve them.
In the early 1800s, Americans experienced a rise in religious sentiment known as the
Second Great Awakening. This movement emphasized emotional individual conversion.
Transcendentalists and Unitarians stressed reason and the dignity of the individual. The
religious revival touched African Americans, too. To enslaved people, the message of
Christianity offered hope for freedom.
These trends prompted new calls for social reform. Abolition—the effort to end
slavery—was an important reform movement. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave,
eloquently spoke and wrote about the evils of slavery. Slaves worked long, hard hours.
Many bitterly resented their treatment. Some, like Nat Turner, rebelled. These actions
frightened slave owners, who passed harsh slave laws and argued against abolition.
Many women were active in social-reform movements such as abolition and temperance
while others worked to improve education for women. In 1848, female reformers met in
New York at the Seneca Falls Convention. They approved a statement that demanded
equal rights for women.
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